Pendulum
by Tia-Chan18
Summary: AU Katara doesn't realize just how much she has in common with Aang until they experience a different meaning of being close.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so this is my first multi-chapter story for this fandom. I would like to dedicate this whole story to **Ba-Sing-Tei** as she gave me the idea. I hope I do the characters justice. This is AU so there will be huge differences from the current world. If you don't like that, then please don't read. I'm doing this as a test for myself as well for my fans.

**Katara - 16**

**Aang - 15**

**Toph - 15**

**Sokka - 17**

**Zuko - 17**

**Azula - 16**

**Mai - 17**

**Ty lee - 16**

(I don't own Avatar)

* * *

It was a chilly day within the Earth Kingdom. Katara was used to the chill since back at home, it was always cold. She wasn't used to the warmer days however, and always felt she was sweating when the other kids were dressed properly. She scowled at the thought, for she never used to pay any attention to the other students at Regional Republic High.

Sighing, she looked up at the sky as she walked at a decent pace. She was currently living with her best friend, Toph, as she couldn't afford to live on her own. She didn't want to force her grandma to move into the big city with her and leave their home in the water tribe. She got letters from Gran Gran every other week, and called her when she had the chance. She knew her Gran Gran wasn't one for talking on the phone, so she chose to write letters as a way of communication.

She clutched her books closer to her chest as she continued her walk to school. She should've just taken Toph's advice and skipped, but Katara was hoping to go to University and didn't want to miss any classes. She didn't understand how Toph was one of the top kids in her class when she constantly skipped out.

_"I'm sure Toph would enjoy school more if she actually __**went."**_

Katara knew how crazy Toph was and decided it was a waste of her time to try and talk her out of it. Still, she couldn't help but feel lonely as she walked down the narrow path that lead to the front doors. She always kept her head down, not wanting to pay any attention to the popular kids or give them any ammunition. When Toph was around, the kids didn't pick on her, knowing just how tough she was and knew better than to pick on a Beifong. However, she was a target the moment she was alone, and while she wanted to attack them or use her waterbending to freeze them, she wasn't exactly skilled in it.

She was an ametur, causing others to look down on her for not knowing her element.

There were no other waterbenders at the South Pole, which made learning very difficult. It was only her and her gran gran, but she wasn't a bender, so she wasn't able to help. Her parents weren't around anymore, which made growing up very lonely. She was the last waterbender, and she didn't fit in anywhere.

"Well well.. Look who decides to show her face. It's the water peasant."

She turned her gaze to the voice, only to scowl at the girl. Azula was always known for being Katara's biggest bully. And of course, she wasn't alone. Her brother Zuko, along with her best friends Ty lee and Mai, were a few steps behind. This always made Katara on edge, seeing as she was always backed into a corner.

"What do you want Azula?"

She sneered, "From a water peasant? Nothing. You have nothing of worth. You're just a lowly peasant."

Rolling her eyes, she turned on her heels, just wanting the day to end despite just arriving.

"If that's all you have to say, I have no time to chat. I have to get to class."

Growling, Azula shot a fireball at Katara, just missing her by an inch. Halting, Katara turned her gaze slightly to see the fire nation princess preparing for another attack.

"You will not turn your back on me, freak! You don't belong here! I'm surprised you're still here to begin with!"

Not dealing with her bantering, Katara turned her attention to the stairs and walked from the group. She had no patience for her today and her mood had already worsened.

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.

.

She was always the first to arrive to class. Despite being home schooled, Katara was pretty smart for her age. She was in her junior year, and she was just happy enough to be able to come. She had to beg her Gran Gran to let her come, and while she was against it from the start, she didn't want to make her little waterbender upset.

Turning her gaze out the window, she scowled as she saw Azula and Ty lee's reflections. They sat up at the front, where all the popular children sat while she remained in the back, away from everyone else. This class she had consisted of kids from all three years, and while Katara was one of the few from her grade to attend, she was a little happy to discover that others who were younger also joined this class. It made her feel like she fit in with the class.

"Oh look! It's Avatar Aang!~"

"Isn't he so dreamy?"

"I wish he would look at me!"

She could hear the whispers but chose to ignore them. It didn't matter where she went, all she heard about was 'Avatar Aang' this, 'Avatar Aang' that. It annoyed her to no end, seeing as he was a year younger than her. It made her upset, knowing that the avatar was more skilled in waterbending than she, and though she wanted to take out her frustrations on him, she chose to distance herself. It was better to avoid drama than to start it.

"Alright class! Take your seats!" A voice echoed through the room as the children ran to their desks. Katara smiled when she saw Mr. Iroh enter the class, a cup of tea in his hand. He was always understanding and knew of her family situation. He was very patient and treated her like she was like everyone else. It was nice to not be picked on for once in her life.

"Today, I am going to give you an assignment that will require about a week or two to complete. It will be up to you to fit it in between social time, but I look forward to seeing your papers. I have assigned each of you a partner and their names will be written on your piece of paper."

With that, Katara perked up. She didn't expect this to happen and while she knew Mr. Iroh meant well, she couldn't help the nervousness that formed in her stomach. She felt the emotion stir up more when he walked up to her desk with a smile on his face. He slipped the paper on her desk, knowing she would probably hate him for it, but he knew it was the best course of action for her.

When he got back to the front of the class, he spoke. "Alright class, you may turn your papers over."

Blowing out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, she turned her paper over. Dread filled her being as she stared for what felt like hours at the name on the piece of paper.

_"Oh no."_

_._

_._

_._

Aang blew out a breath as he turned his gaze to the girl who had her name on his paper. He didn't know much about her, but that didn't stop him from having a bit of a crush on her. Feeling heat rise to his cheeks, he watched as she lifted her gaze from the paper to look in his direction. He felt his heart stop as their gaze intensified. He wasn't sure how to react to this development, and while he wanted to approach her, he knew if he did so otherwise, people would question his actions.

He had a reputation as the Avatar to uphold. If it wasn't for the fact that he was one of the most popular guys in the school, he would've already befriended Katara. He still didn't understand why he had to listen to the rules of the school and only socialize with people of the same status as him. It made him feel ridiculous and while he has fought that law many times, it didn't change.

"Alright now class. You may approach your partner and start discussing the assignment. I will let you do so for the entire class. Try to use your time wisely."

Feeling as though he was going to be swallowed whole, he took a deep breath before standing up and heading towards the young girl's desk. After their intense gaze, he was able to sense that she was uncomfortable. Though he wasn't sure if it was because he was the avatar or because they were complete strangers. Regardless, he decided to start the talking.

"Uh.. Hi. I'm Aang. Though I guess you'd know seeing as my name is on your paper."

He was tempted to scratch the back of his head but felt his hand pause as she turned to look at him, her sapphire eyes boring into his.

He was feeling her study him, though he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad thing. But he couldn't deny that she was indeed beautiful and while he wanted to say anything else, he felt that saying something would upset her.

She nodded. "I'm Katara. Nice to meet you."

Feeling the pressure slide from his back, he sighed before sliding into the chair that sat beside her desk. He noticed a sketchbook underneath her textbooks and couldn't help but smile.

"You're an artist."

She raised an eyebrow before realizing she left it out in the open. She shrugged his accusation off, as though it was no big deal.

"I only draw sometimes. I'm not very good at it, so it doesn't matter."

Feeling the awkwardness coming back, he coughed before looking at the piece of paper.

"So, Mr. Iroh said we needed to learn more about each other. I'm curious to know why he put us together."

"Why, you got a problem with being my partner, oh great mighty avatar?"

He looked up at his paper to see her gaze hard and cold. He swallowed when he realized how he worded that sentence and cursed mentally at his own stupidity.

"That's not what I-"

"It's okay. No one likes being my partner anyway. If it's such a bother to you, we can switch. It must be uncomfortable for you to talk to someone whose below your social status."

He saw her glare intensify on the paper, but more than that, he could see the loneliness that was hidden within those orbs. He wanted to comment on it, but he felt so out of place. He wanted to get her to open up, but again, he could feel that dreadful feeling creeping up again.

"Katara... That's not what I'm saying."

She shrugged, "It doesn't matter. Let's just focus on this assignment so you can get away from me."

He felt he should say something else, but pride made him keep quiet, and so they both worked on the project together.

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It was lunch time and though Aang was usually quiet and reserved, he couldn't help but feel mentally exhausted.

"What's up lil bro? You seem upset." Sokka said before shoving food in his mouth. He couldn't ignore the weariness of his brother when he was usually so upbeat and happy.

"It's this girl in my class. We ended up being partners and because we're from different social classes, it's hard to work with her. She gets so upset and she hardly answered any of my questions."

He quirked an eyebrow before a smile came to his face. "Ah, you must mean Katara."

His eyes widened, "You know her?"

He took a bite before replying, "She's Toph's best friend. Of course I'd know her. She's generally quiet and reserved. She hardly associates with anyone, though who could blame her when Azula constantly attacks her. Anyway, she lives with Toph. I don't know much about her but if you want to know anything else, you should ask Toph. I'm sure she'd answer your questions."

Aang pondered this thought as he took a bite of his tofu. If it was during school hours, he would've approached her already and talked with her.

_"Damn these laws! If there was some way I could change them."_

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Katara felt as equally exhausted as Aang. She couldn't understand why, seeing as it was only about an hour with him. And yet, he made her feel things she wish she didn't.

_"Must be an Avatar thing."_

Shaking her head of these thoughts, she approached her teacher, who had already been waiting for her in the classroom.

"Ah, Katara.. I knew you'd come back."

"Mr. Iroh, I'm so confused. Why did you put me with the avatar?"

"Do you know what the purpose of this assignment is Katara?"

She blinked before looking down. "Umm.. No. Not really."

"The purpose of this assignment is to get to know people from different nations. And who would know more about the nations than the avatar? I know there's restrictions when it comes to this assignment, but it may not be as bad as you think. Just give it a chance. I assure you, it won't be as bad as you think."

She watched as Mr. Iroh poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of her.

"Now, drink some tea. It will replenish your thoughts."

Smiling at her teacher, she raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. She let her mind wander to the young boy who had become her partner. And for some reason, she felt that something big was going to happen sometime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, here's the second chapter. Sorry it took so long to update. I just had to figure out where this chapter was gonna go. Hope you enjoy it!

(I don't own avatar)

* * *

"So, I heard you got put with Aang for an assignment."

Her pencil snapped with tension before she twirled on her chair to look at Toph.

"How'd you find out?"

"I hear about what happens at school, even if I'm not there." She took a moment to pause before sitting up on her bed. "Besides, were you even going to tell me about it?"

She mentally cursed. Of course Toph would know everything. She is a Beifong after all, one of the highest status' in the school. She still couldn't understand why someone of her stature would be friends with her. But the last time she asked resulted in her being stuck to the wall for an hour until she apologized for asking such a ridiculous question.

"Well... It's hard to say. I was seriously debating it because I wasn't sure how'd you react to it. I figured you wouldn't care so I didn't think to tell you."

She scoffed, "At least you're being honest Sugar Queen. So did anything else happen to you at school?"

She could feel the pencil sink into the palm of her hand from holding it so tightly. She sighed,

"Azula picked on me again."

Despite being a waterbender, Katara was still able to sense Toph's rage from her side of the room. Toph knew the history between the two, and every time her name was mentioned, it would send Toph into a spiral of rage.

"Let me guess, you didn't do a thing about it."

She looked at the floor in shame, "What did you expect me to do? I can't waterbend and even then, Azula is stronger than me. I'd totally be crushed."

Toph growled in anger before getting off the bed and grabbing Katara by her shirt.

"Listen here, Sugar Queen. You are not weak. Yes, you don't know how to waterbend. But I promise you, we will find you a teacher. I know Mr. Pakku won't teach you as he feels only men should know it. But we will find someone else. I worry about you Katara. I don't want another incident to happen to you."

She smiled before grabbing Toph into a hug. Even if she was rough around the edges, she still knew how to cheer her up.

"I swear, if you keep crying, I will pin you to the wall again."

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Aang groaned for the umpteenth time that evening. The girl he got paired up with kept appearing in his head, preventing him from doing any sort of work. He had never seen someone hate him so much, and he wish he could understand where she came from. Was there something he had that she didn't?

"Ugh! I'm so confused!"

The knock on his door caused him to raise an eyebrow before Sokka came in, Toph not too far behind him.

"Uh.. Hey Toph. I didn't know you were coming over."

"As usual, Sokka didn't tell you I was coming over. He's such an idiot sometimes."

"Hey! You know I'm standing right here!"

"Whatever." Toph waved her hand in the air before sitting on Aang's bed.

"So, I heard you got paired up with Katara. Sounds like a rather interesting pair, don't you think Sokka?"

He shrugged, "Maybe she'll have other friends besides you Toph."

She scoffed, "Katara doesn't trust everyone. She only trusts a few people and even then, you have to show her you can be trusted."

Aang sat on his chair quiet, contemplating how to ask her. If what his brother said was true, Toph would know what to do/say to get her to open up.

"Toph... I need your help."

"What's on your mind, Twinkletoes?"

He sighed, "It's just... I tried talking to her in class today, and it was so awkward. She hardly said anything about herself. And when I asked some people in the halls, they couldn't tell me much about her. This project we're supposed to work on together just seems much more complicated because she won't tell me anything about herself."

Earthbending a small rock in the air, Toph laid back on his bed, trying to give some thought into her response.

"It's like I said, Twinkletoes, she's not one who trusts easy. You have to prove to her that you can be trusted. I know that's difficult to do seeing as we have those stupid laws at school. But the only way you're going to get through to her is to break some of those laws. I know you're the avatar, and you have to show people that they need to listen blah blah blah.. But until you show her you're different, Katara is just gonna think you're like every other rich kid there."

He rested his hand on his palm before sighing once again, "This is giving me a headache."

"Look Aang, I know this project isn't gonna be easy, but have you ever thought that that's what Mr. Iroh wanted?"

He blinked before looking at his brother, "What do you mean Sokka?"

"It's as simple as it sounds. You know how Mr. Iroh is. He wants all of us to get along with each other. So maybe the reason he paired you with Katara was to get you to see just how hard it is for the lower-class. I've spoken with Katara a couple times, she seems like such a cool girl. I wish I could be closer with her like Toph, but sadly, I have to think about my image at school. Unlike Toph, who doesn't care what people think about her, I'm a non-bender. If I chose to pick a fight with someone, I wouldn't be able to defend myself since majority of the school can bend. Since weapons are forbidden from the school, I can't use my boomerang."

"I think what Snoozles is trying to get at, is you're the avatar. You have to try and find balance with her. You have to see what makes her tick, what makes her happy. I know it won't be easy, but think of it as an exciting challenge. Who knows? This might help with your spiritual training. Like Mr. Iroh says, to understand oneself, one must understand another."

He nodded before twirling around in his chair. Giving them a small smile, he spoke, "Thanks guys."

"That's what we're here for buddy."

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Katara sighed before taking a look out the window. She knew she'd have to eventually talk with Aang and get to know him on a much better term, but a part of her was still at war. He was the Avatar. He was the strongest person in the school, in the world even, and yet he was younger than her. A part of her was curious to know more about him. Like how he was able to master all four elements. She had a lot of questions she wanted to know about him, and yet, she couldn't find it in herself to ask him in class today.

"_Maybe I feel intimidated? After all, I don't have many friends and I don't really associate with people at school. Toph is more solitary, which is why I feel connected with her. She doesn't constantly badger me with questions about how I feel or interrogate me. She knows when to be quiet, and when to give advice. With Aang... Who knows what kind of a person he is?"_

Shaking her head, she sighed before looking at the paper in front of her. She had asked Mr. Iroh to give her a set of questions that she could possibly ask Aang that weren't too informal. But when she read some of these out loud, she cringed at the thought of asking him.

"I mean, I know he has to be nice to everyone at the school, but why does he talk with Azula and Zuko?"

Glaring at the paper, she banged her fists on her desk before grabbing her hair in frustration.

"Why do I even care about this? Why do I feel like I should care about what the Avatar does? It's not like we're friends or anything... It's not like I **want** to be friends with him..."

_"Do I?"_

The question itself made her pause her train of thoughts. Just because he hung out with bad people, doesn't mean he's a bad person himself. Mr. Iroh had been teaching them about the inner mind and how one acts around new people. He even told her that how she was acting was completely normal for a girl her age.

"Ugh! This is so confusing. I need to get some sleep."

With that, Katara stood up from her desk and got ready for bed. Perhaps tomorrow would be a new day for the young waterbender.


	3. Chapter 3

So I tried to not take too long to update this story, but I'm also in the midst of job hunting and getting really frustrated over it. So I thought I'd take a break and update this.

(I don't own Avatar)

* * *

_He took a look around him as he tried to stand. For some reason, he felt groggy and couldn't remember where he was or what he was doing. Taking a deep breath, Aang finally got to his feet and began walking around. It was like he was home, but at the same time he wasn't. The home he was in was eerily familiar, but he couldn't understand why. It's not like he had been to this place before._

_Right?_

_Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that this place was one he recognized. He couldn't figure out why it felt so normal to be here, and yet he didn't find anything that stood out to him. Shaking his head, he walked to the bathroom, only to see it was a closet instead.._

_"Okay, this is not normal..."_

_He closed his eyes for a few moments before trying to calm his mind. Yes, it was frightening and confusing, but freaking out wasn't going to help him in this situation. Walking back to the room, he cursed as he tripped on the edge of a bed. He frowned, before his eyes widened when he saw Toph sleeping on the same bed he just kicked._

_"What's going on? Toph didn't spend the night!"_

_Running to what he thought was a closet, he realized ended up being the bathroom and he desperately wanted to slam his head against the wall. Everything was so different, so much taller. He was so used to seeing everything from a higher perspective, but he realized he had somehow shrunk in the middle of the night. He looked down at his hands, only to gasp when he saw that they were brown, and not his usual pale skin._

_He vaguely noted his voice was higher than his usual deep voice, and this sent him into a spiral of confusion that he couldn't contain. Running to look at himself in the mirror, he felt himself almost faint. _

_There, in the reflection was Katara._

_._

_._

_._

Gasping, he shot out of bed and ran towards the bathroom. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he noticed that he was back in his home, and not in the girl's body. He looked down at his hands, running them over his face before laughing like crazy. He failed to notice Sokka knock on the bathroom door, until he heard his voice over his happy laughter.

"Quit thinking about women and hurry up! We're gonna be late!"

Thankful his brother wasn't around to see his blush, he decided that his brother had a good point, and he should get dressed and ready for school.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen. After all, why would he dream about being Katara?

Shaking his head, he didn't want to think about the situation at hand. All he wanted to do was get ready for school and attempt to talk with Katara once again.

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Katara sighed heavily as she watched the juniors' gym class. She had a spare at the same time as Toph's gym class and after relentlessly begging her to watch, Katara agreed. Though she couldn't understand why Toph would want her to watch their gym class. She couldn't figure out if it was to show her up, or if she just wanted company.

"Shouldn't you be participating in gym instead of hanging around here with me?"

Toph shrugged, "Mr. Pakku won't mind. He seems to think I cheat at most of the sports anyways. Though I don't understand how you can cheat when everyone can use their bending."

"Probably because you're a master Earthbender. I mean, you can even bend metal, something no other earthbender can do." Katara muttered as she worked on her math.

"Is that jealousy I hear Katara?"

She snorted, "Why would I be jealous of you being able to earthbend? I'm not an earthbender nor am I the-"

Toph raised an eyebrow when she heard Katara stop mid-sentence. Shaking her head, she turned her gaze back to the boys in her class playing water soccer.

"Whatever you say Sugar Queen."

Giving her a small glare, Katara turned her gaze to the sound of laughter and saw Aang gliding across the field, ice forming under his feet. He was able to control the flow of ice so naturally it made her boil in rage. She understood that he was the Avatar and had to master all the elements, but why did he have to make it look so easy?

She was staring at him for so long that she failed to notice him staring back at her with wide eyes. When she blinked, she could feel her face heat up before grabbing her books and leaving the table.

Curse the Avatar for being such a showoff. What gave him the right?

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Aang ran towards Toph, who just smiled while sitting on the bench. He turned to look at Katara, who didn't give any sort of glance back to them and he felt like someone punched him in the stomach.

"What was that?"

Toph shrugged, "I don't know, but whatever it was, you must've done something to piss off Sugar Queen."

He shook his head, "But I didn't do anything! I was just playing ice soccer with the class!"

She raised and eyebrow before punching him in the arm, "Well that explains a lot!"

"Ouch Toph! What was that for?"

"You know, for being the Avatar, you're quite stupid."

Before he could retort in anger, she whispered.

"Katara can't waterbend."

Aang blinked before looking in the direction the young girl went. "But I thought she-"

"Oh, she's a water bender, but she hasn't learned how to do it. No one's taught her how. And seeing you do it with ease definitely upset her. She's probably wondering why you were able to do so easily while she has problems with it."

"Why hasn't she asked anyone to train her?"

Toph sighed, "Don't you think she hasn't done that already? Mr. Pakku won't because he believes that only men should know it. And the other water benders treat her like crap because she can't water bend. She's an outcast remember? No one would want to associate with someone like her."

"So is that why you relate to her so well?"

She shrugged, "I guess you can say that. She doesn't pester me like everyone else does. She knows when to talk and when to be silent. The only difference between me and her is I can bend."

Walking away from the young airbender, she raised an eyebrow before stomping the ground, causing him to yelp.

"Hurry up Twinkletoes! You're gonna be late for class!"

Standing up and dusting the dirt off his pants, Aang ran to catch up with Toph. He was trying to figure out some way to help the young water bender. He just hadn't thought of a plan yet.

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Katara sighed before staring out the window. She arrived early for class, giving her time to assess her current situation. She didn't understand why Toph made her watch their gym class. it wasn't just so she'd see Aang waterbend, was it? Even then, what purpose did it serve? Did she want her to ask Aang to be her teacher? She laughed at that thought.

_"There's no way the Avatar would want to be my teacher."_

Despite having that thought, she couldn't help but feel sad. Why wouldn't he want to train her? Sure, he was the most popular guy in school and he had a reputation to protect, but he wasn't that shallow, was he?

Growling in aggravation, she failed to realize Aang sitting beside her, causing her to jump.

He gave her a confused look, "Are you okay, Katara?"

"I'm fine. I just didn't see you there." She mumbled before grabbing her notes out of her bag.

"Look... I just wanted to apologize for not being an active participant yesterday. I wasn't expecting to be paired up with you and for some reason it pissed me off. But despite that, I can't allow my grades to slip just because I'm working with someone different. So, from this point on, I will answer any questions you have. Within reason of course."

He held the pencil to his mouth, lost in thought before he spoke, "So, you're a waterbender.."

He cursed when he realized he let it slip and he felt her tense up beside him. After all, the look from before still burned in the back of his mind, and he shuddered at the thought.

"No, I'm not a waterbender."

He blinked, "But Toph said-"

"Well, Toph was wrong! And I don't appreciate you talking to her about me. If you're going to work on this project with me, the least you can do is have respect and not talk about me behind my back!"

Slamming the chair into her desk, Katara stormed off, while Aang slouched over and rested his head on the desk.

"What's wrong with me?"

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Katara fumed for the eighteenth time that night as she worked on her biology homework. She scribbled so much, the desk itself threatened to break. She cursed silently before taking a deep breath. She shouldn't have gotten so angry, but it was such a natural response to anyone who asked the question. Even though when he asked it, it wasn't out of spite or anger. It was a curious question he wanted to know the answer to. Maybe it was the earlier scene that caused her to snap at him, but she laid her head on her desk, while silently beating herself up.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts and before she could answer, it opened to reveal Aang.

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "Toph invited me over. I couldn't say no."

She narrowed her eyes before turning back to her studies. "What do you want?"

"I want to teach you waterbending."

She dropped her pencil in shock, before whirling around in her chair. Her eyes narrowed in caution, as though she was debating with herself if she could trust him or not. Perhaps it was a mistake or it was her ears playing tricks on her, but she still forced herself to ask,

"What was that?"

With a strong tone in his voice, he replied, "I want to teach you waterbending."


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry guys I took so long to update. I'm still job hunting while getting obsessed with other fandoms (naruto, bleach, korra, etc) and I'm really sad that both Naruto and Legend of Korra are coming to an end. But just because Korra is ending, doesnt mean my stories are going to. Anyways, I hope you can forgive me for this. I hope this chapter is worth the wait.

* * *

"Did I hear you right? Aang... **_THE _**Avatar wants to train me in water bending?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Is that such a bad thing?"

She laughed, though the tone didn't reach her eyes. "Why would you think I'd believe you? Is this some sort of prank you're pulling? Last time I checked, none of the popular kids wanted to be around a peasant like me. Is this a dare?"

He sighed, "Look, I don't know what happened in the past... But trust me when I say that I won't hurt you. I honestly want to get to know you Katara. I feel the best way to do this is by teaching you water bending. I mean, how is it fair that you don't know your element but everyone else does? This isn't even part of the assignment either. I genuinely want to help you."

She raised her eyebrow at the last line. Part of her wanted to trust him, but another part of her told her to run away and never acknowledge him. She could feel the grip on her pencil tighten as she contemplated her choices. She could accept the avatar's help and train under him, or she could blow him off and just go on as though this conversation never happened.

Her hands rubbed the side of her head as the confusion of the situation grew. His tone suggested he was being serious and he wasn't planning on doing anything mean to her. Though she never talked to him until recently, she noticed how he treated the other students. He got along with everyone, including the students who were like her. She suspected that having a non-bender for a brother had something to do with it, but she didn't voice her thoughts out loud. She had a feeling he would continue to pester her until she gave him a response. When she turned her head in his direction, she noticed he sat cross-legged, his hands in his lap as he waited patiently for her answer. He held a gentle yet serious expression and she could feel herself begin to blush. Turning her face away in shame, she sighed before looking out the window.

"Can you give me a few days? The idea of learning water bending makes me want to say yes. But there's still a part of me that's completely unsure if this is real or if it's a joke. It's not your fault, it's just I don't trust people well, I'm sure Toph told you, and the idea of learning from a complete stranger is a bit unsettling."

He nodded before a smile graced his lips, "I understand Katara. I don't blame you for being weary. I do want you to know that I have no intention of harming you. Water bending does require patience after all, and if I forced you into giving me an answer, that wouldn't be very proper of me. I will give you time to make your decision. And please, don't feel like I'm pressuring you into giving me an answer. I want you to come to me at your own pace. I just wanted you to know the option of learning water bending from me is there. And please don't hesitate to come talk to me in the hallways. Everyone else may seem to care about the groups there, but I don't."

She couldn't believe the words coming from this young boy's mouth. He was the Avatar! And yet, here he was, talking with her despite their backgrounds as though they've been friends for a long time. She wasn't sure if she should be irritated by his forward behavior or flattered at his actions. Scratching her head with the pencil, she looked up to see Toph at the door.

"Supper's ready. Snoozles thought I should include you two instead of hogging all the food. If you don't hurry, I really will eat your portions."

They gave each other a look before nodding and standing up to leave the room. Katara was about to let Aang go first before he gestured with his left hand.

"Ladies first."

Feeling the blush take over, she mumbled a 'thank you' before quickly scurrying out the door. She mentally cursed as her heart continued to race at a fast pace.

.

.

.

Resting her feet on the chair, Azula grinned as the t.v. droned on in the background. Her favourite show was on and she had the whole house to herself. Her father wasn't in and Zuko was home before he decided to take off.

Normally, Azula would be concerned with where her brother went, but recently she felt herself caring less and less about him. There were times she'd feel herself worry over his wellbeing, but then she reminded herself he was fully capable of taking care of himself. Besides, she was the Princess of the fire nation. Why should she worry over her brother when they were both fighting for the throne.

Her thoughts were cut off as the sound of her phone rang through the air.

Grabbing the phone, she pressed the green button before replying, "Azula."

"_Azula! You'll never guess what I just saw!"_

Raising an eyebrow, Azula sighed, "What is it Ty-lee? I'm in the middle of-"

"_I just saw Aang leaving Toph's house!"_

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Azula rested a hand on her face as she replied, "Of course you'd see Aang there. He's best friends with Toph. She is the richest girl at our school you know."

_"But I saw Katara there too! And I've heard people say she lives with Toph!"_

This caught Azula off guard, causing her to smirk. "Is that a fact?"

_"I'm almost positive those rumours are true. After all, I always see Katara with Toph when they come to school."_

"You know, Ty-lee, this just got interesting..."


End file.
